Hot-water heating system.



G. H. GIBSON.

HOI WATER HEATING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-22. 1913.

Patented June 8, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

lllllllllll lllllllllll IIIIIHIIII INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNE Y THENORR/S PETERS (50., FNOTG-LITHGY. WASHINGTON. D C.

G. H. GIBSON.

.HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.22, 191a.

N WQNBN INVEN TOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY THE NORR. PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHQ,wAsHlNmoN, D. c,

G. H. GIBSON.

HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED saw-22,1913.

Patented June 8, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 5.

INVE NTOR ATTORNEY WITNESSES v f THE NORRIS PETERS C0,. FHOTC-LITHCL.WASHINGTUN. D, C.

GEORGE E. GIBSON, 0F MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

HOT-WATER HEATING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1915.

Application filed September 22, 1913. Serial No. 791,002.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. GIBsoN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, re siding in Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hot- TaterHeating Systems, of which the following is a true and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a partthereof.

My present invention relates to heating systems in which the circulatingmedium is hot water.

The general object of the invention is the production of a simple,reliable and effective heating system, inwhich an open heater like thewell known open feed water heaters for heating boiler feed water, or thelike, may be advantageously employed for heating the water circulatedthrough the system.

More specifically, the object of the invention is to provide simple andeffective means whereby the heater which supplies hot water to the hotwater circulating system may also serve effectively as a condenser forcondens ing steam supplied to the heater in excess of the amountrequired to heat up the water for the heating system, and whereby, also,the temperature of the water supplied by the heater to the heatingsystem may be varied, and a vacuum may be maintained in the heatercorresponding to thetemperature at which it is desired to deliver thewater from the heater to the heating system.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this specification.

For a better understanding of the invention, however, and of theadvantages possessed by it, reference should be had to the accompanyingdrawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated anddescribed forms in which my invention may be embodied.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevation, partly insection, of one form of apparatus embodying my invention; .Fig. 2 is adiagrammatic elevation, partly in section, of a modified form ofapparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic elevation,partly in section, of a third form of apparatus embodying my invention;Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of one of the valves shown in Fig. 3;Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic elevation, partly in SQCtlOII,

of another form of apparatus embodying my invention; and Fig. 6 is asectional elevation of one of the valves shown in Fig. 5.

In the drawings, and referring first to the construction shown in Fig.1, A represents an open feed water heater from which hot water is drawnto supply the hot water heating system through the pipe B by thecentrlfugal pump C. The pump 0 discharges the water drawn from theheater through the check or nonreturn valve C and pipe G into thecirculating system proper. This system, as somewhat conventionallyillustrated in Fig. 1, comprises a riser pipe D, a pipe G leading to theexpansion tankH, a plurality of radiators F connected in the usualmanner between the pipes D and G, a return pipe I from the expansiontank H, and an inspirator E to which the pipes C, D and l are,connected. The pipe C is connected to the expansion nozzle E, the pipe Dto the compression nozzle E and the pipe I to the inlet or suctionchamber E of the inspirator E.

With the arrangement described, the total volume of flow through thepipes D, G and I will necessarily be somewhat greater than, and, indeed,may be'several times that of the volume of flow through the pipes B andC. The rate at which hot water is supplied to the circulating system,and thereby the temperature in and the heating efi'ect of the latter mayobviously be regulated, as by varying the speed of the pump or otherwisevarying its effective capacity.

The mode of operation and advantageous characteristic of the circulatingsystem' proper just described are explained in detail in my copendlngapplication Serial No. 791,003 filed of even date herewith. Variousnovel features of the apparatus, disclosed in Fig. 1 but notspecifically claimed herein, areclaimed in said copending application.

It will be apparent of course that since water is constantly being fedinto the circulating system proper from the heater by the pump 0, acorresponding amount of water must be removed from the circulatingsystem. This is accomplished in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 by meansof the overflow pipe J leading from the expansion tank H back to theheater A, wherein itdischarges into the trough A, overflowing from thelat ter onto the usual splash trays A The heater A is supplied withsteam through the pipe A and oil separator A,

and is provided with an overflow connection A limiting the height ofwater level in the heater, and with float actuated means for supplyingmake up water to maintain a minimum height of water level in the heater.In the respects just noted the heater A does not differ in principlefrom the ordinary open feed water heater long known and in common use.The heater'h'as certain special provisions and adjuncts, however, toadapt it for use in carrying out the second object stated above; 2'. 6.,to enable it to serve as a condenser for condensing steam which may besupplied to it by the pipe A in amount substantially in excess of thatrequlred to heat the water supplied tov the hot waterfloat O responsiveto the water level in the 7 heater, or in one compartment thereof ashereinafterexplalned. The valve N is automatically opened and closed bythe float O as the water level in the heater or heater compartment fallsbelow and rises to a predetermined height which is below the level ofoverflow into the connection A The cold well M of the cooling tower M isprovided with an overflow pipe M and excess water accumulating in thesystem may be discharged by this pipe as well as through the heateroverflow A A'supply pipe P containing a valve P supplies make up waterwhen necessary to maintain the proper amount of water in the cold well.The valve P is automatically actuated by a float P which opens andcloses the valve P as the water level in the cold well M of the coolingtower falls below and rises to a'predetermined height. In general, itwill be understood that the system, in so far as already described,tends to constantly gain water by condensation 'of the steam passinginto the heater through the pipe A It is necessary, however, to make upfor some leakage from the hot water heating system proper, and for anevaporation and spray loss in the cooling tower when used, which willordinarily be greater than the leakage loss in the circulating systemproper. Moreover, the heater may supply hot water, as through the pipe Afor other purposes, and the make up supply pipe P is thus generally Iprefer to divide the water space in the heater A into two compartmentsas by the partition A which projects above the water level which it isdesired to maintain in the water space to the left of the partition inwhich the float O is located. 'The water from the trays A and A passesto the compartments at the right and left, respectively, of thepartition A Inasmuch as the leakage in the heating system proper undernormal conditions will be less than the water of condensation passinginto the compartment at the right of the partition A the water level atthe right of the partition A will normally be maintained at the top ofthe partition A and water will constantly flow over the partition to thewater space at the left hand side thereof. This insures a' constant headof water at the inlet of the pump C. Advantageously, the steam admissionto the heater is located adjacent the splash trays A as this permits thewater passing through the pump C to be properly heated even though theavailable supply of steam may be msuflicient to correspondingly heatwater which may be passed over the trays A A vacuum pump connected tothe heater, makes it possible to maintain a vacuum, or pressure lessthan the atmos-. phere, in the heater. As shown, the vacuum pump Q isconnected by the piping P to the overflow connection A? and separator Aand serves to draw ofl water which. may overflow into the overflowcompartment A and oil which may collect in theseparator L, :as well asthe air or other non-condensable gas or vapor collecting in the heater.

With the apparatus described it will be apparent that the temperaturemaintained'in the heater A and its condensing capacity may be varied byvarying the rate at which the pump L draws water from the heater andpasses it through the cooling tower M, for the condensing capacity ofthe heater varies directly, and the temperature maintained therein tendsto vary inversely with the amount of cold water returned to the heaterfrom the-cooling tower.

, Instead of employing separate pumps for the hot water circulatingsystem proper and for the cooling tower operating in conjunctiontherewith, a single pump may befemployed for both purposes, asshown forinstance in Fig. 2. a

. In the'arrangement shown in Fig. 2, wa-

teris withdrawn from the heater AA by the reclprocating pump CA, thepiston of the pump CA being connected to and operated by pistons workingin the steam cylinder CB and in the water motor cylinder CC.-

The water outlet from the pump cylinder CA is directly connected totheriser D, and the latter is connected at its upper end to a coolingtower MA. The flow of water into" 7' the cooling tower from the riserDis controlled by a throttle valve DA which may be adgusted to vary theflow therethrou'gh to the cooling tower as desired; The return pipe GAfrom the radiators and the return pipe R from the cooling tower lead tothe inlet port of the motor cylinder CC. The outlet port from thiscylinder is connected by a pipe S to the top of the heater AA,discharging onto the splash trays in the latter. Make up water issupplied to the heater AA as required through the cold water supply pipeT which contains the flow regulating valve T operated by the float T inthe heater in response to variations in the water level in the latter.

A represents the steam supply pipe to the heater, A the oil separator, Athe overflow connection, and Q the pump for regulating the vacuum in theheater.

With the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the condensing effect of the heaterAA may obviously be varied within wide limits by adjusting the valve DAto cause more or less of the water withdrawn from the heater by the pumpCA to flow through the cooling tower MA. The available head of the waterpassing toward the pump through the pipes R and GA is to a large extentutilized and not lost as the water passes through the motor cylinder CGin which the energy available in the water is utilized.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a system in which the cooling tower isconnected with the heating system proper generally as in Fig. 2. Thesystem shown in Fig. 3 differs in a number of respects, however, fromthat shown in Fig. 2. As shown, the pump CD employed for drawing waterfrom the heater and delivering it to the riser D is a centrifugal pump,though it is immaterial whether a centrifugal or reciprocating pump isem ployed. The return pipe BA from the cooling tower MB leads directlyto the heater, although preferably formed with a water seal loop RA asshown, to prevent free steam communication between the heater andcooling tower. The return pipe GB from the radiators F is connected tothe heater through a seal loop and hand valve GO. In the arrangementshown in Fig. 3 the pump CD is automatically controlled so as to supplywater rapidly enough to in sure that the uppermost radiator or radiatorsis kept full of water, under all conditions, without raising thepressure of the water at the top of the circulating system higher thanis necessary. This is accomplished in the form shown by the drawings bymaking the valve GF which controls the supply of steam to the motordriving the pump CD automatically responsive to the pressure at the topof the circulating system. The valve GF, as shown, (see Fig. l)comprises a balanced valve member G acted upon by a spring G tending tohold the valve open. The means shown in Figs. 3 and 4 for overcoming thetension of the spring G and moving the valve member G toward 1ts seatmore or less as requlred,

comprises a pressure chamber Gr attached to the casing of the valve GGand having a portion of its wall formed by a flexible diaphragm Gengaging the stem of the valve member G; and also comprises means,responsive to the pressure at the top of the circulating system, foradmitting a pressure fluid to the pressure chamber G*. In thearrangement shown in Fig. 3 the pressure fluid thus admitted to thechamber G is compressed air supplied by a pipe U through a valve V andpipe U. The valve V is automatically actuated in response to thepressure at the top of the circulating system by the diaphragm W forminga part of the pressure chamber WD connected to the top of the riser D.'When the pressure at the top of the circulating system rises above thedesired amount, the diaphragm W is operative to open the valve V andthus permit pressure fluid to flow from the pipe U through the pipe U tothe chamber (it where it acts on the valve member G in a directiontending to move the valve toward its seat against the tension of thespring G G represents a restricted leakage port from the chamber Gpermitting the escape of the pressure fluid and a consequent re ductionin the pressure in the chamber Gr when the valve V is closed. "With thearrangement described the pump CD will be operated at the required speedto maintain the desired pressure against the diaphragm WV regardless ofthe extent to which the flow through the radiators is reduced by closingor throttling the radiator valves. The cooling tower MB should belocated at a high enough level so that it will drain freely into theheater, but advantageously is not located higher than this level, forwhen no water is flowing through the radiators and the throttle valve DAis wide open the only work required from the pump CD is to pump thewater which it may then be necessary to pass through the cooling towerto the level of the top of the latter.

In the forms of apparatus shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the cooling toweris connected in parallel, so to speak, with the hot water circulatingsystem proper. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to place thecooling tower in series with the hot water circulating system proper,and one arrangement of this kind is shown in Fig. 5, wherein the coolingtower MC and valve MC are connected between the return pipe GB and theheater in shunt, so to speak, to a throttle valve GG controlling directcommunication between the heater and return pipe GE. In this form ofapparatus the riser D and return pipe GB are preferably 'connected by aby-pass pipe Y which comprises a portion located about the top of thecirculating system proper and permits of the circulation of the coolingwater when the radiators are nearly or entirely closed off.

water in the cooling tower to prevent steam from blowing out of theheater through the tower. The valve GG is automatically actuated tomaintain a head of waterin the return pipe GB sufficient to insure thatthe uppermost radiator or radiators are under all operating conditionslrept full of water. The throttle valve GG maybe, and is shown as beingsimilar to the valve of Fig. 4: except that the movable valve -member Greplacing the valve member G of Fig. 4 is not balanced but is urged awayfrom its seat by the pressure the water admitted to the valve casing bythe return pipe GB. The spring G of the valve GG might be so adjusted asto hold the valve closed, except when the pressure on the inlet side ofthe valve disk is equal to or exceeds the head of water due to thediiierence in level between the top of the circulating system and thevalve. With the spring so adjusted it Would of itself so control theoperation of the valve as to keep the radiators always filled withwater, and on'the other hand would open to limit the maximum pressure inthe circulating system, and to, permit the return of water to the heat rWith this simple spring control oi the valve G however, the deliverypressure against which the, pump CD must worlr will, be unnecessarilyhigh when conditions require a maximum amount of water to be pumpedthrough the radia: tors, for at such time there willbe a considerableloss of head due to the frictional resistance to the flow of waterthrough the radiators and return pipes, and to insure the opening of thevalve GG under this condition, the pressure at the top of thecirculating system must be suificient to compensate for the loss of headresulting from the frictional resistance to the flow of water backto theheater. This results in substantially increasing the load on'thecirculating pump at the time the pump is alreadyworking under heavyload. This'disadvantage is obviated by providing means for automaticallyvarying or counteracting the effective tension of the spring G5 asrequired to prevent an unnecessary increase in pressure at the top ofthe circulating system. The means shown in Fig. 5 for neutralizing theefi'ect oi the spring G more or-less as required comprise parts U, U, V,and WD, operating as in the arrangement shown in Fig. 3.

While in accordance with the provisions me e of the statutesI haveillustrated and de scribed the best forms ofmy invention now known tome, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may bemade Letters Patent, is

1. In combination an open waterheater comprising a heating chamber, asteam supply connection to said chamber, a hot water circulating, heatradiating system connected to and receiving hot water from and returningcold water tosaid chamber, a 0001- mg tower, and re ulable means forpassing water from said chamber into said cooling tower and returning itto said chamber Wl'lQIGlOY the temperature of the water delivered by theheater to the heating system and the steam condensing capacity of theheater may be varied by varying the rate at which water is passed to thecooling tower and returned to said chamber.

2; In combination, an open water heater comprising a heating chamber, asteam sup ply connection to said chamber, a hot water circulating, heatradiating system connected to and receiving hot water from and'returningcold water to said chamber, a vacu'{ um pump connected to said chamber,a I

cooling tower, and regulable means for passing water from said chamberinto said cooling tower and returning it to said chamber whereby thetemperature of the water deliveredby the heater to the heating systemand the steam condensing capacity of the heater may be varied by varyingthe rate at which water is passed to the cooling tower and returned tosaid chamber.

3. In combination an open water heater comprising a heating chamber, asteam sup ply connection to said heating chamber, a hot watercirculating, heat radiating system, a cooling tower, means forwithdraw-' ing water from said heater and delivering it in regulableproportions to said heating ed to and receiving hot water from and re-'turning cold water to said chamber, a cooldiators receiving ater fromand discharging back into said heating chamber, a cooling towerreceiving the Water from said circulating system at the supply side ofthe radiators and returning Water to said heating chamber, and valvedmeans for regulating the amount of Water passing through said coolingtower.

GEORGE E. GIBSON.

ing tower, a common pump for Withdrawing Water from said chamber anddelivering it to said heating system and cooling tower, and regulablemeans for varying the amount of Water passing through the cooling towerand means for returning water to said chamber from said tower andsystem.

In combination, an open Water heater comprising a heating chamber, asteam supply connection to said heating chamber, a hot Watercirculating, heat radiating system including a circulating pump and ra-Witnesses NORMAN K. CONDERMAN, ROBERT G. CLIFTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

